Saturday, March 4, 2017

Why do things happen this way?

There has been a spate of news bytes that put serious questions on the ethics factor insofar as the 'sting' operations conducted by the media. While it's the duty of every journalist to be on the look out for the wrong happenings in society, it needs to be ethical during the conduct of such investigations, failing which, things can go horribly wrong.

 (a) The sad end of Lance Naik Roy Mathew.

       Lance Naik Roy Mathew, hailing from Ezhukone of Kollam district, was carrying out the duties
       of 'Sahayak'(Buddy) at the Artillery Center at Deolali. Poonam Agarwal, of the news portal,
       'Quint' managed to carry out a sting operation and videograph - without his knowledge - his
       duties. The video showed 'Sahayaks' taking the dogs of their senior officers for walks, taking
       their children to school.

       He had been missing since 25 Feb and his decomposed body was found hanging in a dilapidated
       barrack, a few days later. The Army has established that the cause of death of the soldier was due        to suicide from an internal inquiry and his body was sent to his hometown and laid to rest.

       A few questions remain viz.:-
             * How did Poonam Agarwal carry out a sting operation in a high security area?
             * Isn't she responsible for the soldier's untimely demise in that the video put enormous
                pressure on the young man for having let down his superior?
             * The duties of a 'Sahayak' have been laid down clearly. This needs to be promulgated so
                that journos and news portals do not get carried away by half baked information! In the
                process, what has been missed out is the excellent 'officer-Sahayak' relationship. Under
                whose instigation was this sting ops carried out?

  (b) Kalabhavan Mani's protesting family.

        The family of Kalabhavan Mani is not satisfied with the Kerala Police's probe on the actor's
        death. There are politicians who've asked for a CBI probe into the incident. If there's a case to
        answer, why delay the matter?

  (c) The separatists have the best of both worlds.

        When many Kashmiri mothers were receiving bodies of their sons, covered in shrouds, every
        day on calls of strike by Pro-Pakistan separatist Syed Ali Shah Geelani throughout the latter
        half of last year, his grandson was appointed research officer in Sher-e-Kashmir International
        Conference Centre, a subsidiary of the state's tourism department and that, too, without
        following the existing procedures of recruitment.

        How has this happened? Corrective action needs to be taken forthwith!


Tailpiece.

Misuse of power and corruption go hand in hand throughout our country. There's no respite to that! Sad!!
           


       

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